Due to the ongoing pandemic, Foothill Fibers Guild is meeting via Zoom. Some in-person events are now being planned with COVID safety measures required. Members receive Zoom connection links and updated meeting information.
Programs are generally held the fourth Tuesday of the month January through May and September through November at the Community Room at the Madelyn Helling Library in Nevada City. Doors open at 6:15 PM and a brief business meeting begins at 6:45 PM. The featured program begins about 7:00PM.
In June we have our annual picnic and tailgate sale, in July and August we are busy with the Nevada County Fair, and in December we hold an annual holiday pot luck gathering.
♦ UPCOMING PROGRAMS
(Scroll to the bottom for recent programs)
**Tuesday, September 27, 2022
Super Summer Show & Tell and Annual Planning Meeting
In-person and via Zoom
**Tuesday, October 25, 2022
Alanna Wilcox – Color, Fiber and Dye
In-person and via Zoom
Are you a fiber enthusiast that is curious about color? Maybe you’re even “dyeing” to learn more about how and when color is applied to fiber influences a project’s visual outcome. In this lecture, Alanna will explore color perception, color theory, and how that can be applied to the projects we create as fiber artists. Alanna breaks down color theory in a very easy to understand way for the novice fiber colorist and then deep dives into the nuances that can be tapped into when one is aware of how human perception of color (and how that perception) can guide our choices in creating with fiber, yarn, and handmade fabrics.
Alanna Wilcox is a fiber artist, professional educator, Master Spinner and color specialist with acid dyes. She loves empowering fellow fiber enthusiasts by helping them overcome their creative challenges, learn new skills, and achieve their fiber related goals through her expert instruction via online workshops and books. Alanna is constantly making things, especially projects that have to do with color and fiber to express her creativity. She earned the OHS Spinning Certificate with distinction in 2015 and the Master Spinner Certificate in 2017. She wrote and self-published the spinning book “A New Spin on Color” in addition to developing over 2,000 precision dye formulas to color match digital images and HEX colors. Her newest book “Color Alchemy: From Digital to Dye” will be available in a course she is developing for dyers and spinners that pairs the science of color with the art of dyeing. Working with fiber is something that she lives and breathes, sometimes literally.
♦ UPCOMING EVENTS
**Weaving Group meets on the second Saturday of the month. All weavers (from beginner to experienced) are welcome to join us as we share and learn from each other via Zoom (and occasionally in person). Members will receive further details via email. COVID precautions will be enforced.
**Social Saturday Returns! On the third Saturday of the month. FFG is hosting Social Saturdays at the Community Room of the Madelyn Helling Library in Nevada City. Guild members will meet for knitting, spinning, and any other fiber fun you can carry with you. Members will receive further details via email. COVID precautions will be enforced.
♦ RECENT PROGRAMS
**Tuesday, May 24, 2022 at 6:30 PM via Zoom
Mary Berry: Manipulation Color in Spinning to Weave
There are innumerable ways to spin a colorful braid of fiber and they will, most likely, all be pretty. But what if you want to spin specifically for weaving? And even more specifically, what if you want to spin to end up with a specific color presentation in your weaving? In this program, we will look at the most often used ways of dyeing fiber and yarn, and several ways that a spinner can manipulate his or her spinning fiber to bring about a certain color result in a woven cloth. For non-spinners, this presentation includes what to look for when buying dyed yarn to achieve predictable color in weaving.
Mary Berry is the Owner and Resident Teacher at the Fancy Fibers Fiber Arts Center in northeast Texas. Formerly a middle school teacher, she now teaches weaving, spinning, dyeing, rug hooking, and rug punch in her own shop and at fiber festivals nationwide. Her Fiber Arts Center sells supplies and equipment for the crafts she teaches, as well as spinning fiber from the Shetland sheep, Angora goats and Suri alpacas that she raised for 12 years. For Mary, every day is an opportunity to create something beautiful.
Mary will answer questions during her presentation but if anyone has any questions about dyeing or color in spinning ahead of time, let Jeanne (programs@foothillfibersguild.org) know and she can forward them to Mary in advance.
**Tuesday, April 26, 2022 at 6:30 PM via Zoom
Lynn Smetko: Design Deliberations
Lynn Smetko, a weaver of 25 years, enjoys the design phase of weaving the most. She combines a fascination with weaving, technology and art when designing for her 40-shaft computer- assisted loom. Photo-editing and weaving software are used to create weave plans that not only define fabric, but an entire piece. Lynn is a past president of Complex Weavers, past editor of the CW Journal, past president of the Fort Worth Weavers Guild, and also belongs to Cross Country Weavers, Contemporary Handweavers of Texas, Dallas Handweavers and Spinners Guild, and HGA. Her articles have appeared in the CW Journal and Weavers.
During our April 26th program, Lynn will be helping us think about design. Designing can be hard work. Do you have trouble deciding what or how to design for weaving? Are there too many choices or not enough? Are you stuck in a rut with your designs? Sometimes the best ideas come from considering the work of others. Many different approaches to weave design will be explored while looking at inspiring examples.
♦ RECENT EVENTS
**Nevada County Fair – August 10-14, 2022
**We held our Annual Summer Picnic on Tuesday, June 21, 2022. We met in person at Pioneer Park to celebrate the end of the Guild’s fiscal year and the beginning of summer. We had a potluck and shared our Guild Challenge projects during Show & Tell.
** On December 7, 2021 we enjoyed a great Holiday Party on Zoom, including social time/ sharing, games, and a Show and Tell slide show. You can view the slide show HERE
